Uncle Mike

Hello fellow dyers! My name is Mike, and I have been dyeing/experimenting with fiber arts since the late 80s, when my buddies tried to make a living at such and were actually quite successful.

Tie-dyeing has always been a sort of passion, starting out with RIT dyes and as others have stated, not satisfied with the results. Then, my buddy, Wade, turned me on to Procion dyes from Dharma. I swear, the first time I opened that plastic bag in my parents' backyard (yes my first setup was in the backyard of my parents' house), I almost had a manic attack at the brightness of the shirt. At that time, I was soaking the shirt in soda ash and water for overnight and then squirting with plastic bottles bought from Dharma.

Again, trying to copy my buddies, I turned to vat dyeing, using some dangerous chemicals such as sodium hydrosulfite and lye. This killed off my parents' grass around the mock plywood table I was using and gave me chemical burns on my feet and legs when I wasn't wearing shoes. Therefore, I went back to Procion dyes, but this time I mostly did vat dyeing with lots and lots of table salt, trying to get deep rich colors along with the soda ash.

Well, time went on, a few craft fairs here and there; most of the time, though, I would sell through word of mouth, or give goods away way too often. Then came marriage, and the craft fairs and tie-dyeing stopped.

Then, years later, divorce came, and medical problems (kidneys blew out!), so naturally one had more time to take up a hobby full-time. a lot more research was done to perfect my tie-dye. First, I experimented once again with direct application, this time with the help of sodium alginate and Glauber's salt for the turquoise blended colors and Synthrapol was like a Godsend, as I could now actually use my washing machine to wash out colors without them bleeding into each other. This was a good thing, since before, I used the hose on my side yard and had pretty pink and blue dyed legs more times than I would like to admit.

Lastly, I have been adding some iron-ons of different icons and such. People at the craft fairs really enjoy such, as the Indian prints remain my best sellers.

Well, that sums it up. Lately, I have been doing 10x10 psychedelic banners. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of these to share.

Thanks for listening, and if you're in Central California, look for my booth at one of many craft fairs in the spring and summer.

Far out and solid,

Uncle Mike
Uncle Mike's Sportswear
I_am_Frisbee_dammit@Yahoo.com
559-275-4721